Devotion
How many paths of devotion are there?
9
What prevents us from developing detachment?
Worldly desires/illusion (maya).
What should be changed through conscious effort to improve your character?
Habits/bad tendencies.
What is selfless service (seva)?
Selfless service is performed with unconditional love and the attitude of serving God in all beings without the expectation of anything in return.
What type of divine devotion consists of repeating the name of god?
Namasmarana
What does detachment from worldly things lead to?
Where do joy and peace come from?
Within yourself and not from the material world/external pleasures.
What can you achieve by immersing yourself in selfless service?
The distinction between yourself and others will disappear, leading to unity.
Name 3 paths of the 9 paths of devotion.
Listening to stories about God (sravanam), Singing the name (kirtanam), Remembrance of God (Vishnoh-smaranam), Serving the holy feet (paada-sevanam), Reverence toward nature and all life (vandanam), Worship (archanam), Dedication, servitude (daasyam) Befriending (sneham) Surrender to the Self (Atma-nivedanam)
What activity prescribed by Swami can we do to detach ourselves from our body?
Service.
Good character is spiritual _______.
Power.
What attribute is required for service to be productive (in terms of spirituality)?
Thoughts of God while doing service (Madhava).
"Have the Lord’s name within and the practice of one’s duty (swadharma) without."
What are the two types of devotion?
Devotion with effort (bhakti) and devotion with self-surrender (prapathi)
What is the role of intellect (buddhi) in detachment?
Discriminates between what is permanent (god) and impermanent in the world, and helps you focus on it.
What qualities should we avoid in our character?
Anger, desire, greed, delusion, pride, and envy.
What traits does selfless service protect the mind from?
"... passion (desire), hatred, pride, envy, jealousy, and conceit won’t invade the minds of men."
What are 3 characteristics of devotion?
Pure mind, uninterrupted contemplation of god, detachment, embracing everything in equal love, dedication to true speech, etc.
In the analogy of crossing the river to god, if the action of rowing the boat is service and the boat is the body being used for service, what is the water that is being crossed?
Worldly distractions.
What qualities make up a flawless character?
Love, patience, forbearance, steadfastness, and charity.
What is the fire that selfless service fuels?
"The fire that emanates the light of wisdom."